Cabinet Confirmation Hearings Continue on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees are on Capitol Hill Thursday as confirmation hearings continue.

Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis is expected to be confirmed for the top job at the Pentagon, secretary of defense. Today on the stand, he called Iran, “the biggest destabilizing force in the Middle East” and supported the president-elect’s “desire to engage with Russia.”

Mattis also had tough words for Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that he’s trying to break the North American Alliance. On the subject of women serving as ground combat forces in the military, Mattis side-stepped the question. 

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, an outsider who’s not used to this line of questioning, is up for secretary of Housing and Urban Development. While he’s also expected to be confirmed, he will likely come under tough scrutiny for past remarks that some say are politically incorrect. 

And it wouldn’t be a Trump Transition Update without a mention of Twitter. The president-elect was at it again when he chastised CNN, tweeting, “CNN is in a total meltdown with their FAKE NEWS because their ratings are tanking since election and their credibility will soon be gone!”